Spirits in the Wind
by FFcrazy15
Summary: Bits and pieces from the characters that died or have lost loved ones from the Hunger Games. Has 'climb' as the first chapter note that none of the one-shots are from the same 'world' so to speak- their endings and information don't necessarily agree .
1. Chapter 1 Climb

Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games. I make no money off of this.

She blinked in the bright sunlight, shielding her eyes. Where was she? And how did she get there? Hadn't she just been in the middle of a war?

All around her was a grassy green meadow, dotted with wildflowers. The sky was a brilliant cerulean blue, dotted with puffy white clouds. Quite a ways away, there was a single willow tree, standing in the middle of the meadow. It wasn't pretty, or even picturesque. It was downright _beautiful._

"Oh, good, you're finally here."

She whirled around, blond braids slapping against her back with the motion. A girl roughly her age stared staring back, smiling happily.

"You're Prim, right?" the girl said. She had dark skin, frizzy black hair, and the biggest, brightest eyes Prim had ever seen, all dark brown and shining.

Slowly, she nodded. "Who're you?"

"I'm Rue, Rue Brooks." She smiled even wider. "You're Katniss' little sister, right? Gosh, you look just like her!" She frowned. "Except you're blonde, of course, but you have the same nose."

"You're the girl from the Games," Prim said slowly. "You're dead."

"Uh-huh."

"Then… then am I dead, too?"

"Yep."

"Oh." Her face turned serious, worried.

"Oh, no, don't do that!" Rue said hurriedly. "You're taking it wrong."

"I'm _dead._ How am I supposed to take it?"

"Well, you should be happy!" she said, smiling. "Being dead is the greatest thing ever! It's not really like you'd think it be, either; it's _better_ than being alive!"

"Really? Why?"

"Well, you can fly, for one thing, and it's way prettier up there."

"Prettier than this?" Prim said, surprised. "And where's 'there?'"

Rue pointed past the willow true and into the sun. Squinting, Prim managed to make out a mountain, and then, looking up to the top, she saw that what she had originally thought was the sun was actually something glowing very, very bright. "Is that where we're going?"

"Yep! We've just got to climb the mountain."

Prim's face fell. "I can't climb."

"Oh, don't worry, it'll be easy for you! It's hard for some people, but it wasn't really for me, and you'll do just fine." She grinned at her. "Come on, we can't stay here!" She grabbed her by the hand and started to run.

It was an exhilarating feeling- to run that fast, without being afraid to fall, and knowing you could go still faster. They slowed down as they reached the willow tree, stopping at its base.

Rue looked up into the leaves, pointing. "Look. See?"

The willow was much bigger than Prim had originally thought, and the longer she looked at it, the bigger it seemed to get. On hundreds, no, thousands, no millions of branches, birds of every sort were flapping and flying, seeming trapped, but unable to know how trapped they were.

One of the birds caught Prim's eye: a single, white mockingjay, the tips of its wings and tail colored glorious scarlet and gold, the colors of fire. Then, she realized it didn't just _look_ like fire; the bird was truly blazing at the edges.

"That's Katniss… isn't it?" she asked softly. Rue nodded. "Will- will she be okay?"

"She'll get through. It'll be a long time before she comes here."

"Can we come see her then?"

"Uh-huh. A lot of people will be here for her." Rue's face turned serious. "She's going to have a hard climb up the mountain."

"Can we help her?"

"That's what we come here for."

She looked back up into the branches, seeing the billions of birds fluttering every which way. A single snow-white dove with a scarlet chest was sitting on a branch all alone, looking cold. Another, this one gray, was sitting a little ways away, opposite it, also shivering.

A brilliant pink bird was trapped in a tangle of twigs, while other birds pecked at her, but she fought back, stronger than all of them. A brownish-gold sparrow not too far off was struggling to get to her. Prim realized it was the Reaping woman, though she didn't know who the sparrow was.

A goldfinch, her wings bedraggled, flittered back and forth, seeming agitated. "Mother…" Prim whispered.

A meadowlark fluttered around near the mockingjay, sticking close to her and holding seeds in its mouth. Peeta Mellark.

Hundreds and thousands of other birds danced too and fro, but Prim noticed one last group: a tiny clump of black ravens sitting on a branch, eyes bright and full of hope.

"My family," Rue said softly, also looking at the ravens. "They'll be okay. My sister's daughter, Harvest, is going to marry Katniss' son someday."

"Really?"

Rue nodded. "And their child will be someone great, and so will the next, and the next. It keeps going. Cool, huh?"

"Yeah," Prim said wistfully.

Rue caught the look on her face and smiled a little. "Don't feel sad, Prim. See, that's just the thing: all the birds go to the tree for a little while, but when they come out, it's not the end, it's just the beginning."

"Beginning of what?"

"Of everything." She grinned. "Are you ready to go?"

She looked back up into the trees, taking one last look at the beautiful birds. "Yeah. Let's go."

Rue started to run again, pulling her with her. Prim smiled, and then started to laugh as they ran faster and faster, until their feet weren't even touching the ground.

As they drew closer to the mountain, they started to see people around them, all running towards the mountain as well, some slower, some much more quickly. The peak soon loomed in front of them, the glowing beacon shining at the top, but Prim wasn't afraid. She'd left the tree of life behind, ready to climb the mountain of forever.

They stopped at the base, staring up. Though the light seemed even brighter now, Prim found she didn't have to shield her eyes.

"Rue?" she asked, not taking her eyes off the light.

"Yeah?"

"Have I ever met you before?"

"We used to be best friends, last time you were here."

"We were?" Prim said, surprised.

"Uh-huh. You'll remember more the higher you climb."

She reached out to touch one of the rocks and get her first handhold, but she hesitated.

"What is it? Are you scared?"

Was she? She didn't think so, only… "What's it like up there?"

Rue grinned. "Better than anything you've ever imagined." She grabbed on and started to climb, seemingly weightless. She held out a hand. "Come on!"

Prim hesitated, and then grabbed the other girl's hand, and started to climb.


	2. Chapter 2 Halfway Gone

Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games. I make no money off of this.

**A/N: Yes, this DOES tie into Sparrow, for anyone who's read that chapter (as I write this, said chapter has not yet been written).**

Everyone thinks me crazy.

That's okay. I know I'm not. I'm probably saner than most (though it doesn't look it).

Not many other can see Them. But I can. They're there, standing brightly among us, and no one else notices (they're not looking).

I feel a little embarrassed, that everyone around me so rudely ignores Them, these beings that are obviously much greater than ourselves. So, sometimes, I'll talk to Them, to try to make up for my friends' lacks of interest. They always talk back, so we end up having conversations (beautiful conversations).

That probably doesn't add to my sanity points.

No matter. So-called 'sanity' is really just ignorance. I've always been able to see Them- well, not quite always. Ever since I nearly drowned in the Arena (water burning in my lungs), I've known who they are (people of the Overworld, rescuers of the damned). I blacked out there for a while- I think I may have halfway died. That was when I first saw them (and they pulled me out from under).

They rescued me, pushing me to the surface after some flotsam had struck my head and knocked me out, drowning me. Ever since then, They've been my friends (best friends).

Occasionally, someone asks me (cautiously) how I'm doing. I know they mean Finn. They think he's gone (only he's not).

They don't know I talk to him, every now and then. Sometimes, he's among the beings that walk beside us, and I'll speak to him, tell him about how his newborn son is doing (Faolan looks just like his daddy). He already knows, of course, but he's happy just to listen. He's the same as he's always been, talking and laughing and making me blush scarlet. He makes no less dirty jokes as a Being than he did as a human.

But more often than not, he has to leave quickly (too quickly), to go on mission. I don't know what these missions are, but he always assures me he'll come back. I ask him how he can know (how can I know?), but he always smiles and says, "I promise I'll be back," (and my Finn never breaks a promise).

There are other people who can see Them, too, or hear Them, or feel Them. Miss Trinket (so altered in her pain) is one of us- she can sometimes feel Them around her (she's another one of us, already halfway gone).

She asked me about my Finn the other day, and when I started, I couldn't stop (how could I?). Every moment we'd ever had, every memory of him, I told her, and then the new memories- the ones of him as a Being, promising me he'll be back.

That was when I realized she knew about them, too. So now there are two of us that are insane (two of us already halfway gone).

Or three (maybe), since little Faolan points at them. He can see them, too, but I don't know if when he grows up (I hope he'll look like his daddy), he'll still be able to see them. Many babies (so newly living) can see the Beings, but we sometimes forget how, when we're older.

The children Beings (too young to float so light, like foam on the sea) love to play with him, giggling (haunting silent laughter in the room) and telling me how adorable he is. They seem delighted that I can understand.

I feel sad, for the Girl on Fire. Her sister (smiling like the primroses in May), visits me every now and then, when she isn't watching her sister with patient eyes. She tells me about her sister's mourning and grief (awful grief, of war and flowers lost in the wind).

My Finn is away today, off to be the hero he is, ten times greater than he was on Earth. He promised me when he left that he'd be back soon (kissed me goodbye with lips I could just hardly feel). I know he'll be back (since my Finn never breaks a promise), and I bounce little Faolan on my knee, humming happily.

I look around, breathe in the salty scent of the great wide sea (blue and deep as the sky), the waves crashing to the sand outside my window, the fishermen's shouts echoing across the harbor. And I'm happy here in all my so-called insanity, my glimpses into the Hereafter, bouncing my baby on my lap and telling him about his daddy.

Yes, I am happy (because I'm already halfway gone).


End file.
